


One Last Time (Gallifrey Falls)

by Dahiandra



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Gallifrey, Gallifreyan Biology (Doctor Who), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Mostly Gen, Original Character(s), Post-Episode: s12e01 Spyfall Part 1, Time Lord Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22200112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dahiandra/pseuds/Dahiandra
Summary: When the Doctor goes to Gallifrey, amidst the chaos and ashes, she finds something more. Something that could change everything.
Relationships: The Doctor/River Song, Thirteenth Doctor/River Song, Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 73





	One Last Time (Gallifrey Falls)

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: spoilers, descriptions of dead people / planets. 
> 
> Notes: This is my first work on this platform so I'm still trying to learn how to post things without destroying the original format. Also, English is my third language so please feel free to point out any mistakes. 
> 
> Although I am a huge fan of Doctor Who, I don't know much regarding Gallifrey's history or Time-Lord biology, so a lot of those things I had to imagine myslef.

The doctor stumbled out of the TARDIS, shoes dragging across the red dirt as she pushed herself across the sea of scarlet grass and ochre sand. She raised her head, blonde bangs covering her eyes and sticking to her forehead while she watched her home burn. It was a familiar sight, one she had become accustomed to long ago. Gallifrey was always burning, and when it wasn’t, it was trapped, close but just enough out of reach that she could never quite come back. 

However, the image in front of her did not resemble the time war, or at least not the one she so vividly remembered, a constant which she had learned to carry. 2.47 billion. The number flashed across her mind, a grim reminder of her sins, a number which she could never forget, or escape.  
The time war was chaos, it was children burning and screaming, mothers pleading and dying, fathers running and fighting. The time war was bodies scattered across the floor, the citadel torn to pieces and Dalek shells laying on the ground. And when the dust settled, it was pain, and anguish and silence and remorse. So much remorse. 

This was different. Gallifrey was quiet, not a single sound echoing across the red plains, burnt shells and bodies, smoke lifting into the air. It was still warm, the Doctor could feel it, she could taste it. There was a stillness to the scene that made her gag, her whole body repulsed at the unconditional silence that reigned over her home. There was nothing left. Just stillness and piles of ash, red hot embers and burning scorch marks on the ground. The Doctor fell to the ground, knees digging into wet dirt while she pressed her hand against her mouth, choking out a silent sob which never came. The Doctor leaned to the side, bile rising in her throat until she was forced to throw up, emptying the contents of her stomach on the side of the road.

Why? 

Why did Gallifrey always have to burn? 

She didn’t know how long she stayed like that, teeth digging into her fist while her other hand gripped the door of the TARDIS for support, eyes watching as the smoke rose in the air, the stillness of it all making her stomach churn once again. The Doctor closed her eyes, burying her face in her hands, a choked sob escaping her despite her efforts. 

Why? 

The question lingered, there, in the back of her mind, along with the burning hatred and the righteous anger that she had kept hidden since her latest regeneration, wishing so bad for a new start that she had pushed it further and further, deeper and deeper so far into her own mind she’d never had found it. However, there was one feeling that prevailed; hopelessness. Losing Gallifray again and again and again, like a broken record that kept going, unaware that it no longer produced any sound. Time passed, soon the twin suns set in the distance, ochre clouds gathering in the horizon, the threat of rain lingering in the atmosphere like a silent warning. 

It wasn’t until many hours later, in the cover of the night and surrounded by beautiful timeless stars, that the Doctor ventured into the actual planet, beyond the threshold of her TARDIS and into the scarlet wasteland that now surrounded the citadel. The first few steps were hesitant, like the ground would shatter beneath her feet, grass shivering at her mere touch. She walked slowly, carefully assessing her surroundings. Not a single soul was left. Just ashes and bodies burnt beyond recognition, no vestiges of regeneration, no glass dome around the citadel, no centinels and no armies. Just ash.

The journey to the citadel wasn’t particularly long, however, as she stepped closer and closer to the center of the city, the Doctor’s steps became more and more hesitant, piles of bones crunching under her feet as she passed slowly, tears streaming down her face. There was no point in hiding them now, not when there wasn’t anyone to witness it. The Doctor stopped, long arms falling at her sides while her gaze fell on the citadel. She took a deep breath, sitting down on what she guessed had once been a fountain but was now just a pile of rocks. 

The destruction was… unparalleled. Even during the Time War, the Daleks had struggled to put out the flame that lived within the Time Lords. But here? Everything was just… dead. She stared at the citadel, the glass dome encasing what was left of it, black smoke and burning embers rising in the air in a silent dance. The Doctor shook her head. The sadness that had overcome her when she first stepped on the scorching ground had now been replaced by rage, pure unadulterated rage. The questions never stopped. Why? Who? She turned around, remembering the Master’s words so clearly it was almost like he was standing right there. 

“When was the last time you went home?” 

This was the last time. This was the last time and she wanted to vomit, she wanted to drop to the ground and hit, scratch and burn. She wanted to die.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
